I'm a triathlete!!!

I can't believe it, but I am a triathlete! It was an amazing and emotional experience. It was more than I expected, and worth all of the pain of training! I recommend Danskin Triathlons for all first timers. It was non-competitive and very supportive. When people passed me they'd say, "Way to go girl!" not "move it looser!" Just an amazing day.
On the way to the race


















Kari and Deeann preping for the race















Kari and Deeann pumped to race















Kari, Deeann and Kait












Deeann high-fiving before the swim













Getting ready to bike

Run Deeann Run

The finish line!!!

It was just too much for me. I bawled!

Hello from Dallas!

Greg and I made it to Dallas, TX yesterday. We had the most wonderful evening with our dear friend Kari. She is such a wonderful hostess. We feel spoiled here!

Tomorrow morning, we set off bright and early for Austin. We are spending most of the afternoon at the registration expo. While there, I'll try to figure out how this race works. It's getting more confusing to me as the days progress.

I'm more excited than nervous now. I think it's being here with Kari that helps to calm me down. She is such a great motivator for me. I'm so lucky to have her!

Wish me luck! I don't think I'll update this until after the race. Until then, have a wonderful weekend!
D

Off we go...

Greg and I are headed off to our parents' homes tonight. We are dropping off Skeeter the Wonder Dog at my folks house, then spending the night at Greg's parents' house. We then head to Dallas before dawn on Thursday.

We are going to spend 2 nights with our very good friend Kari, then head down with her to Austin, TX for the race. I can't wait to see her.

So, it hasn't sunk in yet that I'm doing this on Sunday. I keep hearing the U2 song, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" in my head when I think about the race. Is that an omen?

Thanks again for all your support. It's so wonderful to know that I have such a great group of friends cheering me on!

I'll update this again before the race, but until then... enjoy the rest of your week!!

Biking and Running

OK, so I didn't check my blog comments until after my workout today. Kari left me a wonderful note about how I should stay off my feet and take it easy this week. I had a HUGE smile when I read it. NO RUNNING! However, I worked out before reading this.

I had a wonderful lunch with Lael today. It was great to catch up again! Then, I was off to Menards with Greg. After that I went to Target and Cub. Where is the workout? It's been raining almost all day so I had to go indoors. Well, I headed out the door for the gym at 5:30pm. It was SO hard to get out of the house. I lost my motivation. But I made it.

I rode this cool computerized bike there. You can move the handle bars to turn on the course. I you don't, then you could fall off the cliff. I rode hard for 30 minutes. It was tough, but felt good.

Then it was upstairs for a 30 min run. I was moving so slow. But, I made my full 30 minutes!

Now, I'm laying on ice. I see my wonderful chiropractor tomorrow, so that should help. For the rest of the week, I think I'll swim (if the pool is open and free) or do my Pilate's. Maybe Skeeter would like to take a walk?

6 days left until the tri. I still can't believe I'm doing this. I'm just grateful that I get to share the experience with Kari, Kait and Greg!

Tired, Sore Back, and Running???

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I've had my own mental battle going on right now. I've been pretty tired this week. Not sure why, except for the poor sleeping thing. Maybe I'm getting too worked up about this race in a week, so it's affecting my sleep.

I've also been dealing with a really sore lower back. My increased run times have been great for my legs, breathing and psyche. However, it's made my back sore. On Wed I went for a 45 min run at the gym. I only got 15 min in, because I could feel the pain in my lower back. My toes were hurting from my first steps, which is a huge warning sign for me. Once the pain was in my back I stopped.

After talking it over with Greg to make sure I wasn't being a slacker, I decided to ease up a bit. I want to make sure I can do this triathlon. I can't ruin my back now. I'm only 1 week away!

With all of that said... I ran an HOUR today!!! I took my Motrin right before the run, which helped me out enormously. I've been on ice for most of the evening. I stretched out the back. I think I have kept the damage down.

What to do tomorrow? I went to the pool today, but each lane had 2-3 swimmers in it already. The lanes are really narrow and not the greatest for more than 2 swimmers. So, I decided to make it a run day. I pick Greg up from the airport during the 2 hours of swimming tomorrow. So, swimming is out. I guess biking and a nice run is in order. It's supposed to me in the lower 80s, so I can finally get my heat training in!

Wish me luck!

Bike 60 min

Yup, a good long bike ride was in order for today! How exciting. That is... as long as your weather observation isn't...

KDEEANN 272000Z 07009G28KT 10SM OVC120 13/02 A3027 RMK FREAKIN' COLD!

OK, so in non-geek terms it was 55 degrees with 24mph wind gusts! It was cold!! I went for 5 minutes and almost turned around. However, I went the distance. I saw neighborhoods I've never seen before. It was wonderful. But now I'm exhausted.

I realized today that I only have 1 1/2 weeks left. It was a bit shocking to me. I'm starting to get nervous. I just have to tell myself that all I want to do is finish and not walk. I am not out to compete, just have fun. It's tough to remember that though. We'll see how nuts I get as the days go by. I'm sure I'll be a basket case this time next week :)

Run 55 min

55 minutes? Who the heck does this stuff? Me, I guess.

On my official training plan, I was supposed to run yesterday and strength train today. Instead, I switched the days due to bad weather here yesterday.

Lucky for me, Greg went for a 2 + mile walk about 45 min before my run. He sent back word that there were VERY strong winds out of the west, and I may want to rethink my route. So, I ran up and down my north/south road from the house. It is the beginning of my course, so I just ran it back and forth for 3 plus times.

It was a tough run for the first 15 minutes. I didn't' think I could make it the full 55 minutes. It was made even more difficult by the fact that I kept seeing my house every 15 minutes. After about 20 minutes I found my groove and was ready to finish it all. I ran the full 55 minutes, and felt like I had more to spare, but I didn't push it.

Tomorrow I was supposed to run 45 minutes, but since I already moved stuff around, I'm moving things again. We'll see what I come up with tomorrow :)